Some Say He's Tiff Needell: Fifth Gear host back at Top Gear to fill in for The Stig?

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. No, we're not going anywhere, but there's a race on. After Ben Collins revealed himself to be The Stig, there will be a new one to replace him. And once he, she or it is in place, the speculation of The Stig's real identity will start afresh.

So who's set to be the new Stig? According to a report from the UK's Daily Mirror, it's Tiff Needell. Now, well-informed fans will point out that Needell is host of rival program Fifth Gear (the same show that picked up Ben Collins after he left Top Gear), so clearly something's amiss here.

The story is that Needell – who co-hosted the old Top Gear before the current format was installed – offered to help out his rivals and old friends at Top Gear in one specific capacity: namely, to help the show's latest Star in a Reasonably Priced Car – Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle – learn his way around the test track, a job usually undertaken by His Royal Stigness.

Will this have been a one-time deal, or will Needell be hanging out regularly with Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond? That depends on how long it takes the blokes at the BBC to find a long-term replacement. But don't count on Tiff donning the white suit for long.